Indian Stand-up Comedy

On our never-ending quest to find that right video, that right series or movie, I found myself pretty comfortable with Indian stand-up comedy. It is fair to say that having consumed hours and hours of comedy, whether it’s small routines, longer specials, or in-person events, I think I have an idea of the stand-up field in India.

While I enjoy the occasional international special of a comedian I saw on a talk show or sitcom, from American greats like Chappelle and Seinfeld to British comedians like Jack Whitehall and Ricky Gervais, I obviously identify with and relate better to Indian comedians. The way they speak, interact with the audience, and the material they do is far more appealing to me and a great way to decompress after a long day.

Stand up in India is still a relatively young field of performing mainly because of what our culture finds acceptable in terms of entertainment and entertainers. While we do have one of the biggest film industries in the world, in my opinion, the stand-up field is a fraction of what it can be. Many comedians have a standard set where they jokingly explain where they come from and what led them to stand-up – most are engineers and MBAs tired of the humdrum that is Indian industry, looking to follow a passion they could only sustain after making some money. Not many of our big names started off intending to pursue comedy but sort of found it through the course of their education and early adult years. Considering how low paying it could be if one doesn’t make it early in their career, it won’t seem like a viable option to anyone, let alone a comedian’s parents. The culture in India itself holds back a lot of talent, with unrealistic expectations and pressure just stopping the growth of this field. However, it is great to see the concept of open mics and small regional festivals for stand-up finally breaking into the country. With programs that are promoting improv and comedy, more people realize the value of such entertainers.

Within the field itself, we can identify the first generation of comedians who played a large part in bringing Indian comedy to the forefront – collectives like East India Comedy and AIB and their individual comedians are all pioneers of comedy. Of course, it is a given that every comedian will be different in their approach and material, primarily driven by life experiences. Still, I have picked up a few key jokes that seem to be overused always, regardless of the set. They often seem forced but are known to garner quite a reaction from the audience – jokes about the Ambani family and Antilla, Shashi Tharoor’s vocabulary, and Salman Khan driving quips. While I understand their importance, it brings me to an important point: is the quality of a set compromised by the need to put jokes to appeal to the audience? Are we going to reach a point where to stay relevant or to grapple with relating to people, the same jokes will be recycled and forced into sets? There was a series on Amazon Prime that showed 5 actors who tried their hand at stand-up, coached by some of our biggest comedians – quite a few of them actually preached using these jokes over and over again in a set! If this is the mindset of a vast majority of the field, what can we expect?

Another similar issue arises when comedians try to appeal to the ‘masses,’ for lack of a better word. There are countless examples of where an actually intelligent routine is just derailed by the forced use of profanity or other mature content to garner a few extra whistles in the crowd. Vir Das, for instance, has some elegant and intelligent comedy. His specials all have a central theme that he sticks to, and he manages to cover a wide range of areas in topics he feels comfortable talking about. However, every single one of these specials has been derailed, in my opinion, by an unnecessary joke. I understand working the room, but these weren’t to break the tension from a serious topic as well – he anyway does a great job with that! In one, he even acknowledges that he was going to do some great material that night, but everyone was just going to take away the unnecessary bit he felt compelled to – and he was right!

But not all sets or routines need to be intellectual or heavily opinionated, right? Comedy itself is meant for you to forget about pain or something on your mind. It can be silly and meaningless and serves a different purpose every time you turn to it. During my board exams, I would watch the same silly routine about getting a haircut before every paper as a ritual, just to get into a great mood before a nerve-racking three hours. On the way back from school, after a long day of extracurriculars, I unwind with a simple story routine about cheating in someone’s law college and am guaranteed to bawl every time. Every time I land in Bangalore, I need to see a 10-minute routine that is incredibly relatable to my experiences in the city! The difference between time-pass and past-time, a conundrum and one of humanity’s biggest questions! Or simply turn back to Antilla and refrigerator jokes when all else doesn’t do the trick!

What does the future of Indian stand-up have in store for us? Quite a lot actually! With a new generation of comedians coming in, with different life experiences and from different walks of life, I am excited to see what we can come up. Collectively, as a society, I think people are becoming more aware of the talent we have as a country and the stigma around going into comedy as a profession will decrease. While my opposition to filler material dominating the field may not have many supporters, I think people will gradually understand the need to be more original in the content they produce and consume. Still, I don’t see this to be a detriment to the growth of this field. I am just here to enjoy!

I look up to this field as something only some of the bravest performers could breach, a frontier in a sense. To have the strength to do show after show and deal with trolls, hecklers, bhakts, and death threats is unparalleled. The kind of diversity we have in this field – not in terms of usual diversity standards – but the diversity of content makes me hopeful for a much bigger field in the future!